Heno’s OPBF title-clinching performance goes to waste

Edward Heno had just had one of his best performances of his young career to claim the vacant Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation’s Light Flyweight belt on Sunday evening.

That is, until the governing body overturned the decision less than 24 hours due to a scoring mishap.

The Baguio City-based Heno (10-0-5, 4KOs) had to settle with a majority draw after the governing body corrected an error in computing the scores of his 12-round title fight with Okinawan Seita Ogido (11-2-3, 3KOs), dropping the scorecards to 114-114, 114-114, 116-112.

“The decision was changed due to a wrong computation on one of the judge’s scorecards. [Naging] majority Draw na and the title is still vacant,” promoter Anson Tiu Co told Tiebreaker Times.

Bob Arum sees Jerwin Ancajas as the ‘next Manny Pacquiao’

What a day it has been for IBF World Junior Bantamweight Champion Jerwin Ancajas.

On a day that saw him make courtesy calls to President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Manny Pacquiao, Top Rank Promotions chief executive officer Bob Arum revealed that the 25-year-old is set to sign with his company.

Mark Magsayo retains WBO International crown in homecoming

The future is bright for Bohol’s Magnifico

In his homecoming, Mark Magsayo (18-0, 13KOs) successfully defended his WBO International Featherweight title against seasoned veteran Shota Hayashi of Japan (30-7-1, 18KOs), Saturday evening at the Bohol Wisdom School Gym in Tagbiliran City.

The fight went the 12 full rounds, with both warriors giving their all. At the end of the 36-minute slugfest, the judges saw the bout in favor of the Filipino, 116-112, 116-112, 116-112.

Headlining Pinoy Pride 43 in his hometown in front of his family, friends, and fans, Magsayo knew and vowed that he needed to fight smart and be technical in his approach. That did not stop him from going toe-to-toe against the very same Hayashi, who was making his overseas debut.

The two traded hard punches all throughout with Magsayo landing the cleaner ones. The Tagbilaran native punished the Japaneese visitor with brutal body and head combinations, but the latter would shrug them off and drop his own deadly combos to the delight of those in attendance.

The win could easily propel him towards fighting for the WBO World Featherweight championship belt currently held by Mexico’s Oscar Valdez — or at the very least, a title eliminator.

In the undercard, Albert Pagara and Jeo Santisima came out on top, as both fighters did not waste time to dispose their respective opponents.

Pagara (29-1) overwhelmed Mohammed Kambulata (16-4) as he knocked down his opponent twice in the second round that called for the stoppage, while Santisima (15-2) needed just 36 seconds to dispose of Kichang Kim (8-5-1)

Manny Pacquiao teases showdown with Conor McGregor in 2018

Is a Manny Pacquiao-Conor McGregor super fight in the works?

In a cryptic tweet posted by Fighting Senator Manny Pacquiao on Thursday evening, boxing’s only eight-division world champion sent a direct message to UFC World Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor, hinting at a future match-up with the MMA fighter in 2018.

On the other hand, McGregor (0-1) made his professional boxing debut last August 26, 2017, losing to a former Pacquiao foe in Floyd Mayweather via a 10th round TKO. The fight — dubbed the Money Fight — had an estimated 4.4 million buys in pay-per-view, falling short of the record claimed by Mayweather-Pacquiao that generated 4.6 million buys.

If this comes into fruition, both fighters are expected to have big paydays. as the two are still considered part of the top five drawers in the fight industry.

Mark Magsayo out to prove worth in hopes of world title opportunity

There’s no slowing down Mark Magsayo (17-0, 13KOs) in his quest for a world title

Since his pro debut, the 22-year-old featherweight has set his sights on the sport’s ultimate prize and he’s been doing his part to make it happen.

Over the course of his career, Magsayo has climbed up the ladder to prove his worth in the boxing world. Every year, he made sure to stay active, competing at least three times and piling up victories and championships.

And as he enters the ring this weekend, “Magnifico” views his upcoming title defense as the perfect opportunity to inch closer to a possible world title shot.

From Melton Sandal — whom he first knocked out in his pro debut back in 2013 — to his marquee win over Chris Avalos in front of more than 20,000 Filipinos last April, 2016, Magsayo believes that every win is an important piece to his championship puzzle.

In his latest test against Japanese veteran Shota Hayashi (30-6-1), a motivated Mark Magsayo vows to put up yet another impressive performance in his hometown.